The actress has taken on this initiative after publicizing her own struggle with depression earlier this year. "I see people suffering, and their families feel a sense of shame about it, which doesn't help. One needs support and understanding," she said.

Over the past few years, India has been on the map for registering high rates of major depression as compared to other countries in the world. In 2011, a study based on the World Health Organisation's World Mental Health Survey Initiative said that lifetime incidents, of what was identified as Major Depressive Episodes (MDE), were highest among Indians at 35.9 percent.